A Death in the Life of Sasuke Uchiha
by Golden Arms
Summary: Sasuke, for the life of him, will not rest until he has successfully evaded dying in a broken section of time that pins him forever in the first day of the Chunin Exams. An entry into my proposed Hate the Hate Challenge -- see homepage for details.
1. Bewildered

AN: This is a story based off an idea I had for a non-fanfic project two-three years ago, but never could work out at the time. Reading a TFF thread on the various ways of Sasuke dying brought to mind this idea and thus its writing. So, I present this piece as a new serial that I am currently writing.

To note, no this isn't inspired by Chunin Exam Day. While I read it in the past, I stopped reading that section for a long while now, and thus have no idea what's happening with that. This is more a morbid twist on the actual Groundhog Day story, of which the original idea was based on.

With that in mind, please enjoy.

_**Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.**_

**A Death in the Life of Sasuke Uchiha**  
Chapter 1  
Bewildered

Sasuke sat up ramrod straight in his bed. He instinctively checked his left shoulder, even getting up and using the bathroom mirror to be certain. Seeing nothing there, he breathed a sigh of relief.

That dream was just too real for his liking.

A look at his clock revealed the time was 8:07 am. A little later than normal, but, there was no training or missions today. Not when they were all set to take the Chunin Exams later that after noon, at any rate. Still, wouldn't hurt to get in a little bit of a workout in beforehand.

With that that in mind, Sasuke prepared himself for the day.

* * *

Sasuke sat up ramrod straight in his bed.

"What the?"

He checked his left shoulder in the bathroom mirror, which felt strange – he had checked his left shoulder in front of the bathroom mirror in his dream, too, looking for the same thing. Which, as in the dream, wasn't there.

And again, it felt too real to be just a dream.

Sasuke frowned to himself, looking at the clock in his bedroom.

8:07 am.

Another weird thing…

He shook his head, trying to clear it. Perhaps he was just too overly eager to fight against that spook from the other day, Gaara of the Sand. That may have been it. Getting a little ahead of himself there and dreaming about today's events.

But what's with that Grass-nin girl biting him in his dream? And that guy in the green leotard with the really stupid haircut?

* * *

Sasuke sat up ramrod straight, blinking in utter confusion.

What the hell was going on here?

His dream kept getting weirder with its repetitive nature. He could have sworn he felt the bite even now, but a general look at his shoulder revealed clear, unbroken skin.

A glance at his alarm clock: 8:07 am.

He shook his head clear. Either Kakashi was going way too hard on them, or he was starting to crack. But over what? He hadn't even taken the Chunin Exam today!

* * *

Sasuke laid in his bed, looking at the ceiling.

"I think I'm going crazy…."

A look at his bedroom clock: 8:07 am.

He was starting to hate that clock.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke stood by, watching this sick dream play itself out again. Sakura would weakly say hi, mostly because she was losing her nerve, and whatever confidence in herself, then they would go to the Academy room 302 on the third floor, which would be blocked by those two guys who were masking the real the second floor as the third floor with genjutsu. Sasuke would say something that inspires Sakura, and then comes the altercation between him and that spiky-haired kid, only to be interrupted by that weirdo Rock Lee guy, whom Sasuke would end up losing hardcore to in a few minutes.

The first exam would be a paper test, given by Ibiki Morino, who tormented them with thoughts of failure, even though it was just a test of ninja skills, with the tenth question being the only "real" question needed to be answered. Which Naruto does so quite loudly in his spiel over not quitting, despite how badly he does in tests. Then comes Anko Mitarashi, flying in through the window, whom Sasuke started to think was Naruto's sister or someone closely related to him; they acted roughly alike.

Anko would then lead them down to Training Ground 44, aka The Forest of Death, where the second exam was effectively a deadly version of Capture the Flag. Naruto mocks Anko. Anko cuts Naruto. Anko gets really annoyed with the Grass-nin, and everyone gets squicked over the length of that girl's tongue. Naruto goes to take a leak, only for a Rain genin to capture him and masquerade as the blond – poorly at that. After scaring him off, Sasuke gives his team the ninja poem to recite to verify their real identities. There was that massive blast of wind that disperses the group shortly afterwards, and he and Sakura are attacked by the Grass-nin genin girl, who's anything but a Grass-nin genin girl. Naruto shows up, stopping Sasuke from handing over the scroll, punching _him_ for his lack of guts. And then…

"You know something, I'm really sick of this dream," Sasuke grumbled sourly, seeing a feral-looking Naruto stop a massive snake with little more than two kunai and his own body, then call him a chicken. Just as the Grass-nin started to loop her tongue around Naruto's body to do whatever it is she does to him that knocks him out at this point, Sasuke let fly a shuriken, forcing the ridiculously overwhelming ninja away from his teammate.

"What is your deal anyway?" he snapped boredly.

The Grass-nin regarded him carefully. "Oh, what do you mean?"

"Every dream, you show up and bite me on the neck, burning something into my shoulder. I black out, and then wake up in my bedroom at 8:07 in the morning, only to be starting out for the Chunin Exam, which is really just this sick dream looping back on itself, ending with you biting me, only to begin all over again."

The Grass-nin looked genuinely surprised for a moment, as did his teammates.

"Uh, Sasuke, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked. "This isn't a—"

The opposing nin began to chuckle darkly, drawing Naruto's attention.

"I suppose there's no point in hiding my objective, then, since you seem to be thoroughly aware of at least part of my intentions." She took hold of part of her face, then violently ripped off the skin, making everyone shudder in sympathetic horror. However, instead of blood and gore, there was only another face beneath. One that was more male, pale and looked vaguely snakelike, with amber eyes lighting upon Sasuke squarely.

"My name is Orochimaru, young Sasuke, and I have come to take your body."

There was moment of pause, as Sasuke stared at the unmasked ninja. Did he hear that right?

"You want… my body?"

Naruto gagged. "Oh, gross! What kind of pervert _is_ this guy, wanting a boy's body!"

Sasuke blanched, feeling his lunch wanting to make a second appearance. A soft thumping sound revealed Sakura laid out and foaming at the mouth. Apparently, the shock was too much for her, and she opted for blissful unconsciousness.

Shame he couldn't do likewise; for starters, being unconscious around a guy that desired his body was a definite no-no.

Orochimaru snorted in mild amusement. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. The summon popped out of existence as well, causing Naruto to fall over backwards.

"Where did he go?" Naruto asked, hopping to his feet quickly.

"I don't know, and I have no intentions of waiting around to find out." Sasuke hopped down to the ground, where he scooped up Sakura in his arms, noting with certain irony how much she'll kick herself for not being able to enjoy this. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Fine with—"

Sasuke was only just aware of the presence behind him. Sharingan ablaze, he tried to react, but with Sakura in his arms—

=CHOMP=

And he screamed, feeling the burning pain flare right into his chest, followed shortly by darkness.

* * *

Sasuke sat up in bed quickly, clutching at his chest.

That was a little different.

Not that it was any less terrifying, but it was… different.

The bed clock read 8:07 am. Again.

Was this some weird kind of genjutsu?

* * *

"Master Kakashi."

"Hmm?" Kakashi looked up from the gravestone marker he had shown his as-yet-unclaimed Team 7 to see one of the abovementioned. "A bit surprising to see you here, especially at this hour."

Sasuke nodded. "I had to ask around. Someone said you might be here."

He shrugged. "Well, now that you've found me, what can I do for you?"

"I think someone put an illusion on me."

Kakashi turned away from the gravestone marker to face Sasuke more directly. "What makes you believe this?"

Sasuke frowned a little. "Today is the Chunin Exam, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "Of course."

"…I've already went through the first day of it five times in five days."

Kakashi only looked mildly surprised. "Really?"

"Of course. It's been driving me insane since it started. I can tell you who the examiners are, what kind of tests we're given, and most of all, some guy named Orochimaru keeps biting me on the neck, which causes me to blackout and wake up in my—"

"…did you say, Orochimaru?"

* * *

Kakashi rubbed his temple again as they sat in his apartment. "Once more."

"Master, for the third time, someone used some kind of genjutsu to force me to live through the same day over and over again. I can't break it, no matter how much I use the Sharingan, and it always ends in the Forest of Death, where Orochimaru bites me with some weird power. I wake up, note that it's 8:07, and the day begins anew, only it's the same day with the same people, and it's stating to drive me crazy!"

"Sasuke, what you're describing is something even I'm not certain a master of genjutsu can perform. The fact that your Sharingan hasn't been able to penetrate it means, either you've been subjected to an illusion stronger than any ninja technique I can think of, or you're going to need a psychic examination."

"It's driving me crazy, not that I _am_ crazy!"

Kakashi held up his hands defensively, sweating a little. "Relax, Sasuke. It is possible someone may have placed a seal on your mind that's altering your perception of things. It's something I believe Interrogation can locate. They have access to various mental techniques that makes this quick and painless."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Kakashi; if there's a seal or something of the like, I can't find any trace of it," Inoichi Yamanaka said regretfully. "There is something odd, in that his recent memories seem to… repeat themselves, though, obviously, because they're of later today, the times haven't matched up. Other than that, though, I can't help you."

* * *

"So, I'm just losing my mind, is that it?"

"Hmm… Not necessarily," Kakashi said to his annoyed student. "This could merely be a side effect of the Sharingan."

"The Sharingan?"

"As you are well aware of, the Sharingan can predict movement and copy various jutsu. However, it's entirely possible that, at higher powers, one can pierce the veil of time and see the future, much like a fortune teller, though with better results." Kakashi looked skyward. "Though I myself had never encountered such a thing, not having the true genetics of the Uchiha."

Sasuke looked at his instructor with a new sense of hope. If it was just a Sharingan effect, he should be able to master it.

"Now that you mention it, every time I get bitten, I am using the Sharingan."

Kakashi gave Sasuke an eye-smile. "Well, in that regard, the best way to prevent that future is to pre-empt the situation. I'll go alert the Hokage to this possible new development. If Orochimaru is hiding among the genin in the exam, we'll flush him out."

Sasuke smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

Sasuke felt very uplifted by this change of events. Apparently, his family trait was just trying to warn him of the imminent danger Orochimaru posed. Sounded reasonable. It would explain a lot.

He went through the motions of the day after that. Meeting up with Sakura and Naruto, going to the exam room, boost Sakura's confidence a bit, encounter Rock Lee's challenge, watch Naruto get beaten, and now, his turn.

He wanted to win against Lee, even opening up his Sharingan when Naruto first charged after the green freak. However, he couldn't really follow Lee's movements, or figure out just how was he able to break his guard. He couldn't even avoid the juggling kick that launched him skyward.

At this point, Sasuke turned off the Sharingan and just listened to Lee's speech, seeing if he could divine the answer from him. He was definitely going to beat this guy, no problem.

"This particular move of mine exceeds your genius… completely."

Yeah. Yeah… Sasuke thought mentally. Big words when the fight's going to—

And then, Sasuke felt bandages wrap themselves around his whole body. He blinked in surprise, being wrapped up like a mummy. Lee grabbed hold of his bound form and they began a rapid spiral downwards.

"What the!" And Sasuke could only make out the dizzying rocketing to the ground and an insane speed.

This isn't supposed to hap-

And Sasuke was piledriven headfirst through the floor.

* * *

=CRUNCH=

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, running to the spot where the Uchiha's boy's legs were flopped about uselessly.

Shock overcame Naruto, as he scrambled to his feet. "Whoa, Sasuke lost?"

Lee smiled. He did it! He defeated the so-called Uchiha genius through his hard work! One step down! The next, his teammate, Neji!

"Sasuke!"

"Do not worry, Sakura-san," Lee spoke sagely. "I pulled the blow at the last minute. He should be fine."

Sakura looked at Lee aghast, tears streaming down her face. "Fine? Fine! How can Sasuke be fine with his neck bent at this angle!"

Lee sweated, panic overriding his system. "Eh!"

Naruto stared down at Sasuke. It was like Land of the Waves all over. Except, the way his neck had been broken, he didn't think he was playing possum.

"Sasuke…"

Sakura cried miserably over the Uchiha's dead body and Naruto looked on, numb. Lee was horrified beyond words.

"What have I done?"

* * *

Sasuke shot up ramrod straight in his bed, checking his neck.

He could still feel it snap, the broken vertebrae tear through his spinal cord, killing all feeling below his head, that sickening weird feeling of his head slipping in a completely free direction.

He puked, in remembrance, trembling as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What. The fuck?" he gasped for air.

Did Lee… kill him?

He puked again, the horror clinging to his guts with fervor.

_TBC_


	2. Broken

AN: Updated the summary a bit to make it seem less of a bashfic -- something that has been a concern, given the way the story works out. It's not meant to be mean or expousing some sort of misguided rage against his character. In fact, I'm going to say this is my personal entry into my proposed _Hate the Hate_ challenge. Not that I "hate" Sasuke; I just have a hard time writing him in character, as he always felt flat to me.

At any rate, here's the next chapter to the series. Enjoy.

_**Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.**_

A Death in the Life of Sasuke Uchiha  
Chapter 2  
Broken

Sasuke wandered the expansive backyard of the Uchiha compound in his pajamas. Ever since this morning, he hadn't been able to shake the feelings and images of his death. Every few moments, he could feel his neck breaking hard against the force behind the attack. The moment of his head suddenly turning freely upward, as if it was attempting to roll in one place on his shoulders.

He shivered in revulsion. His stomach was long since empty, having voided itself upon wakening. Sasuke didn't dare put anything into it, not that he was in the mood for anything remotely looking like food.

"Lee killed me…" he would find himself muttering every so often.

He didn't understand it. He was dead. His neck, broken. His spinal column, torn. He could remember his hearing fading, his eyes losing sight. Sakura, crying over his dying body. Naruto, well, he was somewhere nearby, or at least, it might have been Naruto. It could have been the shadows stealing his life.

Everything was just graying out on him, muted, blurred. And then, the blackness came.

And he sat up in bed, just like it never happened.

This was the most disturbing genjutsu he was ever trapped in. Not even his brother's technique was this horrifying. Sure, being forced to relive the murder of his parents was traumatizing, but this… this was beyond even that.

Sasuke fell to his knees, convulsing as he tried to throw up again. A difficult task, given that there was nothing to throw up. His body tried to crack itself in half, heaving up nothing but ragged air and wayward spit. He coughed erratically, purging himself of the fetid feelings.

The spell passing, Sasuke curled up onto himself.

Someone, end this illusion, he barely thought, holding himself in.

* * *

"Sasuke, are you all right?"

Sasuke's eyes opened slightly. His bed felt remarkably harder. Though, someone checking in on his was something new. Did this mean—

Kakashi's masked face crossed into his visual field. "My, my… " he said, his lazy expression seemingly unconcerned. "You don't look very well. I suppose that explains why your teammate showed up without you."

"My, what?" With a blink, he realized that he _wasn't_ in his bed. He was outside on the ground, still in his pajamas.

"Naruto, actually. He was a trifle upset that he needed both you and Sakura to take the Chunin Exam."

Sasuke straightened up, confusion robbing him of clarity. "The Chunin Exam? But that's not for another—"

"It's 4:46 currently." Kakashi scratched his chin. "By now, I would imagine things are well under way. Far too late for you and your team to enter, I'm afraid."

Sasuke stared stupidly at Kakashi for several seconds before snorting in disbelief. "Whatever Naruto. You can drop the transformation. As much as this genjutsu trap sucks, there's no way in hell it'll let me miss out on my meeting with Orochimaru."

Just as Sasuke started to drag himself to his feet, he heard a chilling line cross his soul. "And what kind of… 'meeting' are you having with Orochimaru?"

He didn't move; he could feel some part of killing intent caressing his neck. It frightened him on a level he hadn't been aware of since the first time Team 7 encountered Zabuza of the Bloody Mist.

"I…"

A swift chop to the back of the neck, and Sasuke found darkness once again.

* * *

Light gave him a headache. Panic filled his mind upon waking, prompting his eyes to fly open. The overhead lights were merciless in their attempts to pound his brains into mush. He tried shielding his eyes from the light.

Only to find that he was unable to move.

He was inside of a domelike box, feeling his arms and legs suppressed snugly within the molding confinement. He was already on his knees, and his body felt slightly numb all over.

"What the hell's going on?"

"Hell…" the low gravelly voice of Ibiki said in echoing sentiment. "Is exactly what will be going on, spy of Orochimaru."

Sasuke's head swiveled in Ibiki's direction. That man looked just as imposing the first time this genjutsu trap began. On his sides, three men stood. Two of them – one with long flowing bangs obscuring his eyes, the other, everything save for his mouth was swathed in bandages, his Leaf forehead protector tied over his eyes. Or at least where his eyes should have been. The third, however, Sasuke was pretty familiar with the man.

His name was Inoichi Yamanaka, Ino's father.

"What's going on here?"

"Seems Kakashi was right in checking up on his wayward students," Inoichi spoke, his pupilless blue eyes hard and unyielding. "Strange behavior coinciding with Orochimaru's presence indicates that you are not whose face you wear."

Sasuke frowned, uncomprehending. "What are you talking about, Yamanaka-san?"

"Give it up, punk." Ibiki said with a voice of frozen steel. "We already know Orochimaru was hiding out within the exam. We found the bodies of three dead Grass-nin, their faces removed and worn as a perfect disguise, particularly among the foreign nin. Plus, you let it slip that you were on your way to meet with Orochimaru." The interrogator shook his head sadly.

"As many mistakes you have incurred, I'm surprised that a legendary ninja like Orochimaru would have a use for a pathetic pawn."

"I'm not a pawn!" Sasuke roared, his confusion turning to anger. "I'm trapped in a stupid genjutsu trap that's apparently designed to drive me crazy! Every time, I'm stuck reliving the first day of the Chunin Day Exams! Every time, we get a stupid paper test, every time, we go to the Forest of Death, and every time except for the last damn time, Orochimaru attacks us, and I get bitten." Sasuke tried straining against the box. "Master Kakashi thought it might have been the Sharingan trying to forewarn me of some impending danger, but then that green freak ends up killing me in our fight downstairs, breaking my neck with that ridiculously powerful spinning dive bomb trick!"

"You're very lively for a spy with a broken neck," the bandaged nin commented with an idle smirk.

Ibiki nodded. "At any rate, let's see what became of the real Sasuke."

"I am the real Sasuke!" he raged. He tried summoning the chakra to activate the Sharingan… only it felt like he was sucking tar through a fifty-foot water hose. He blinked. "M-My chakra…"

"Disrupted with a bit of medical knowledge," Inoichi commented, tightening a pair of gloves on his hands. "Not that knowing of it will do you any good, of course." He reached out for Sasuke's head.

The ninja with the long bangs looked at Inoichi. "Hey, shouldn't we put on the safety features? Just in case—"

"Don't worry about it," Ibiki commented. "The Hokage told us not to go easy on any spies found in connection to Orochimaru."

Those were the last words Sasuke could recall before the pain – and his screams – dwarfed everything.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. The clock was just switching to 8:08 am.

"…that's creepy…" he whispered.

Somehow, he was mistaken for a spy and then had what felt like the mental equivalent of having his head carved open with a rusty spoon and his brains scooped out. Even now, his head felt like a jumble of memories just beginning to resort themselves.

He laid in bed for half an hour seeing things in his mind that didn't have a chronological sort of order anymore. Meeting his team, twisting his ankle trying to copy his brother, Zabuza, his brother shedding a tear while running away from him…

Sasuke blinked at the last though, even as it was replaced with potty-training episodes. Then he shook his head. "Stupid genjutsu trap…"

Though he began to wonder if it really _was_ an elaborate illusion at this point. Things just… hurt for no reason. Everything was just a blank slate. Most of all, none of it made any sense at all.

Could time itself just somehow… broke?

After a few moments, he shook his head. Even Naruto would have said that was stupid.

* * *

"Man, that sounds pretty cool!"

Sasuke palmed his face. "Apparently, I gave you too much credit…" Though, since Sasuke was the one to mention it to his teammate, he had to wonder if he was the stupid one.

"No, really!" Naruto went on, completely oblivious to the insult. "Just think about it! You could like do outrageous stuff, and then no one would ever know you did it! Just think of the prank value! Blow up buildings and stuff, and never having to pay for it! Or if you get punished, it never happened, and you can do it again and again!"

"That's horrible, Naruto!" Sakura cried out – after thumping him face-first into the ground. "Just because you could do things doesn't mean you should be doing them!"

She sounded quite outraged. Key word being "sounded," Sasuke thought as he did catch a glimpse of a forming shadow of mischief on Sakura's face. The quick glance towards him and widening smirk told him everything he needed to know – be thankful Sakura doesn't have access to this sort of "power." There would be no telling what kind of trouble she'd be baiting him into.

Sasuke decided to ignore his teammates. It was a great mistake putting his thoughts into spoken word; it wasn't as if they could actually undo whatever was going on with him and, apparently time itself. A moment of insanity, he concluded, a terrible lapse in judgment.

Besides, he had more pressing matters at hand. Namely, how to make it to the next day.

Back to the faux paper test, Sasuke thought miserably. He checked out Ibiki's position at the black board, that cold menacing face of his. At first he thought that hardass bit was just an act – he was all smiles after everyone had passed the test, which couldn't have been falsified. Having seen him first-hand in Interrogations, though…

He almost wet himself when he spoke. Mostly because he _had_ wet himself at some point in the Interrogation place.

He shook himself of the thought, mind returning to the present, as he considered his options. If he didn't go to the Forest of Death, he'd get killed in some manner. If he did go to the Forest of Death…

Wait, couldn't he just oust Orochimaru? Assuming his memory was correct, they did say Orochimaru was hiding out as a Grass-nin.

His eyes flicked towards the long-haired Grass-nin girl. Recalling Kabuto's cards, there were only two teams from Grass…

A light bulb went off in Sasuke's head. Quickly checking his surroundings, he covertly began working on his test.

* * *

"Something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shook his head in response to Sakura's question, his eyes darting about the Forest. "Just being cautious."

Naruto grumbled, though he, too, was being alert. Getting caught with your pants down once – probably literally, in his case – was the best sobering agent on the planet. At least insofar as this exam went.

_Did it work?_ he privately wondered. Would they buy the message? Did they even read it? Sure he didn't have the necessary cryptography skills to even pretend to code it, and he didn't try, but would they believe in it?

He grunted in disproval. The Grass-nin – Orochimaru in disguise, he wagered – was hiding underground, listening in. Okay, then, time for Plan B.

Now, if he only had a Plan B…

* * *

This guy needed to die. Seriously.

Sasuke, motivated by instincts alone, decided it'd just be quicker to book it. In the end, Orochimaru was only after him. After hiding Sakura in the hollow of a tree – making explicit command for her to not leave it until he came back for her – he beat feet away from the battleground scenery.

Obviously, what happened to his message didn't matter; even if they did read it, and believed it, they were nowhere near to finding him in time. Naruto – gods above only knew what happened to him – might actually buy him some time, should he find them, but it looked as if he was going to get bitten on the neck.

Again.

All he hoped to do was prolong the inevitable. Even if that meant using every last trick up his sleeve. Which, in hindsight, was pitiably few in comparison to what he had to deal with.

Wire. Windmill Shadow Shuriken. Fire Release techs. Clone, Replacement and Transformation combo within more Fire Release techs. Even more wire into traps upon traps.

Nothing worked.

This guy needed to die. Seriously.

Sasuke braced himself against a tree trunk, panting hard as the Legendary ninja grinned in mirth.

"My, my," he clucked, his stolen face long since burned off. "You do put on such an outstanding performance."

"I'm not done yet…" he breathed, though he was certain they both knew he was out of gas, figuratively speaking. He had exhausted every last technique he could think of. Perhaps if he had Lee's skills, he might stand a better chance of…

Inspiration came to mind. It was crazy, but dammit, he wanted to live to see tomorrow!

…providing if tomorrow would ever come of course.

He summoned up everything he had in him to stand off from the tree trunk. Orochimaru raised a brow in wry amusement.

"Again?" His serpentine smile widened. "You are rather persistent."

"And you're going down," he spoke, Sharingan ablaze, his focus on the Legendary ninja's eyes. Wait for it…. Wait for it…

In one moment, Orochimaru's eyes closed for the time length of a blink. By the time the eye opened, Sasuke's foot was already slamming into the underside of his jaw.

"Guh!" The Snake-nin was sent soaring upward, completely caught flat-footed by the move. Sasuke promised himself he was going to thank Lee for the move. Because he planned to finish this off.

With a mighty burst of power, Sasuke rocketed upward, latching hold of his target. Wire swam out from his hands, coiling themselves around Orochimaru's body.

"What is this!"

He allowed himself a smirk. "Your end…"

Sasuke didn't actually know how Lee pulled off the entire move, having deactivated his Sharingan at the time of its execution. So, he went with the next best thing – grabbed hold of the wires with his teeth.

_Fire Release: Ring of Fire_

Intensifying flames wrapped all around the Snake-nin, fire cocooning him within the coils of wire. Orochimaru howled as he was being immolated in the trap. Then fell silent, his body blackening under the assault of intense fire.

Sasuke tumbled to the ground, barely escaping the flaming lump of formerly human remains that fell to mother earth as well. He gasped, his limbs shaking with exhaustion. His entire body felt like it was trying to rip itself apart from the effort that went into mimicking Lee's attack.

How the hell did he stand something like this?

Sasuke shook his head, forgetting about the odd question. In any case, it worked. It actually worked…

Sasuke grinned, despite himself. All this time, he finally got that bastard.

=CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP=

Sasuke froze. Lethargically, he turned his head in the direction of the clapping.

Orochimaru was leaning against the tree behind him, the grin full blown.

"That," he hissed. "Was magnificent. Simply brilliant. Worthy of the Uchiha blood that flows through your veins."

"Buh…" Sasuke's mind went blank.

"Simple mud clone, which makes your skills all the more terrifying and beautiful." Orochimaru's neck began to stretch. "Truly, I must have your body." Fangs sprouted from his mouth as the head shot out lightning-fast, on a collision course for his neck.

Sasuke couldn't think, couldn't act, couldn't even hope to defend.

The maw snapped hard around his neck, drawing the shocked look on his face. And then, he burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing a log Orochimaru had sank his teeth into. He spat out said log in disgust.

"Sorry, I'm late, kiddo," Anko grinned savagely from atop of a thick tree branch, holding onto Sasuke's stupefied form. "You just had to run clear across the forest, didn't you?"

Sasuke just kind of shrugged, dangling in the woman's grasp. "Sorry…"

"Yeah, yeah. Just be thankful Ibiki didn't consider your note a prank." She hopped down to the ground, her eyes never leaving Orochimaru, who looked a bit put off by the interference. "Just head north and join your teammates. I'll handle this one personally." She grinned darkly, kunai flicking into hand.

Sasuke just nodded dumbly, too relieved that he wouldn't be starting the day over again as he had been doing so all this time. He shakily turned and ran.

Stumbled over the log Orochimaru had spat out.

Tripped.

Fell.

=SHCLUNK=

Sasuke wondered why it was so hard to breathe suddenly, even as his body turned decidedly colder. He could just see a tree branch under his chin, kind of felt something against his throat. The ground was turning a deep, wet color of red beneath his chin, growing a bit larger, even as his sight turned darker. He was only vaguely aware of Anko and… what that Orochimaru? Screaming something.

Within moments, Sasuke heard nothing more. Saw nothing more. Was nothing more.

* * *

Sasuke grasped his throat in reflex. Same bedroom ceiling as before. Same clock on his night stand, reading the same 8:07 am.

He was home free – home free! – when he tripped over the log Anko used as his replacement – spat out by Orochimaru – fell, and somehow had a broken tree branch lance cleaning through his throat, severing his jugular vein. Or was it his subclavian artery?

Not that it mattered, since either result was the exact same. He died.

He died…

He died stupidly. It was in such a miserable, pathetic manner, it was almost comical, just thinking it.

His brother would mock him if he only knew. Then kill him for being an embarrassment to the memory of the clan. Repeatedly.

And with that realization, Sasuke buried his face into his hands, and cried for a very long time.

_TBC_


	3. Anger

In this and other chapters, I am posting in some omakes to balance out the somber tale I'm telling here. Thanks for reading so far, and starting this chapter, things will start to get some explanation. Hope you enjoy it.

_**Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.**_

A Death in the Life of Sasuke Uchiha  
Chapter 3  
Anger

"Here I am, again…" Sasuke muttered as he sat outside of the Shushuya restaurant. His face was still pinkish and puffy, eyes bloodshot.

He could see Sakura coming up, noticing the way her walk turned into a bit of a sashay upon seeing him – and likely not Naruto nearby. He resisted the urge to sigh.

Just why the hell was he here again? Did he really have nothing better to do other than get killed or bitten? Did he?

He shook his head. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

He barely acknowledged Sakura's more energetic greeting. In the last times time reset, or whatever it did, Sakura was normally waiting for him, who would shortly be followed up by Naruto. He didn't actually know how much more time it would be before Naruto came up, and he really didn't—

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, you… you don't look so well."

He directed one eyeball at her from the corner of his eye, noticing how she seemed to recoil a little before moving in closer.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, her green eyes wide with worry.

Sasuke turned his head more fully towards her, expression surly. "Yes, something is the matter."

"Wh-what's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

He pursed his lips, looking down at her feet. Her toes pointed inwardly a little.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura's voice came in closer. "If there's something wrong, you can tell me." Closer. "Really." Closer. "You don't have to keep it in to yourself…" He could almost feel her breath, smell her shampoo. His face lifted level with her own.

Sakura was leaned in, inches away from him, her lips moist, cheeks deepening a blush.

"Let me help you," she spoke quietly, her lips almost upon his.

"You're useless."

The girl recoiled so sharply, she fell off the bench they were seated upon. "Wh-what?"

He rubbed his face irritably. "God damn, I'm the one who's stuck with time probably broken, and here you are trying to kiss me. What the hell is your problem anyway? Can't you think of something other than yourself and stupid fantasies involving me? Can you, for one second, not go gaga over me, and be of some use for once in your life? Can you? Or is this the best you're capable of, dead weight?"

With each verbal jab, Sakura wilted, wilted, and wilted. Tears absently streamed from her eyes as she just mutely sat there, staring at him in absolute disbelief.

"B… B… but, I—"

He looked down his nose at her. "Get lost. You disgust me." He turned on his heel and walked off.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat as the full weight of his words nearly knocked her out. She started to sniffle, which rapidly spiraled downward into putting her face into both hands. Her sobs began in earnest.

* * *

"Hey, Sasuke!" The Uchiha didn't look up to see who was calling to him from up ahead.

"Hey, hey," Naruto piped up as he slowed down his running. "Where are you going? Shushuya's the opposite way!"

"I'm not going," he said. "It's just a waste of time."

Naruto blinked. "Not going? Waste of time?"

Sasuke snorted. "You wouldn't understand."

"Understand what?"

"Don't worry about it, dunce. Get lost."

"What!"

Sasuke pushed past his angry teammate. "Bite me."

* * *

Naruto glared at Sasuke's back, his fist clenching. Such a jerk!

He grunted, his good mood slain, and turned away from the brooding lumphead. Whatever stick shoved up Sasuke's ass wasn't going to prevent him from taking the Chunin Exam. Firmly settled, he ran to the Shushuya restaurant.

While he was prepared for the upcoming exam, nothing could prepare Naruto for the sight that greeted him at the restaurant.

* * *

Now, what? Sasuke thought to himself, his face stony. Somehow, there had to be a way to… unbreak time or whatever happened to it. There had to be a way out of this mess.

He idly looked at the movie theatre he was walking past, as if the answer would be written on the marquee overhead.

"SASUKE! WHAT THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

People around him – shinobi and civilian alike – visibly jumped at the bellowing. This time, Sasuke did look up to meet the bearer of that voice.

Naruto was absolutely livid. His eyebrows formed a blond V that tried to touch the tip of his nose. Pupils contracted to pinholes. Fists drawn so tight, his knuckles popped with every slight motion.

Sasuke was unconcerned. Bored, even.

"What do you want, loser?"

"What the hell's wrong with you!" Naruto demanded, flowing rapidly towards Sasuke like a malevolent storm. People got out of his way quickly. "You made Sakura-chan cry!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Like I care. She's dead weight, far as I'm concerned. I have no use for her."

Naruto grabbed him by his shirt, shook him rudely once, twice. "What kind of jerk-ass attitude is that, jerk!"

"Let go, loser," Sasuke responded, a hint of danger in his voice.

Naruto's eyes burned with the strength of an inferno. "Not until you apologize to Sakura-chan!"

=CRACK=

The fire was snuffed out in one swift motion as Naruto's eyes crossed, watered up. His grip slackened as he stumbled back, hands grasping at his belly as he doubled over in the most debilitating pain ever experienced in the male gender's life. He sank to his knees, retching up partially digested noodles, meat and bile. His forehead kissed his returned lunch messily, bowed forward in a twisted form of worship. Then he fell over onto his side, locked into the fetal position, twitching in agony.

Sasuke shook his head. "Look at you. You're just as pathetic as that dumbass girl, you know? You can't even hope to break me out of this damned time loop or whatever it is. So damn caught up in your own little dramas. Fuck that. Fuck you. Fuck her. Fuck everyone."

He turned his back on the incapacitated blond.

"I don't have time to waste on you losers."

Sasuke noted with disdain how people were gawking at him and the scene that just transpired. He shrugged. Whatever. He started to walk forward as some people moved forward to help Naruto.

He only got about ten feet away when the air began to grow extremely heavy. Dark, violent, killing intention. A chill ran through Sasuke's body, his forehead breaking out in sweat as people in the background began screaming in terror. His mind flashed back to Zabuza the first time Team Seven ran into him. Only, this was a hundred times scarier. Malevolent.

"Sasuke…"

The quiet booming voice grabbed his spine with its icy grip, puppetting him to turn around with slow precision.

Naruto painstakingly rose from his fetal position, calculatingly even and precise. His eyes were no longer blue, pupils no longer pinholes. They _were_ fire, red as blood, pupils drawn into monstrous slits. Vomit dribbled down his nose without notice as he snarled dangerously. Whisker marks darkened, thickened. Canines lengthened into bestial fangs. Nails into talons.

The very air vibrated, chakra bleeding from Naruto's every pore. The crimson energy spiraled upward, twisting, transmuting into a savage fox-like head. Which stared at Sasuke very intently, its maw snapping.

"Demon!"

"The fox! It's escaping!"

"Run!"

Screams of terror echoed the area as various people – ninja and civilian alike – fled like rabbits pursued by the hounds of hell. Some fell to their knees and began babbling incoherently. Others nervously stood guard, bravely risking their lives to ensure other people's safety, even while calling for reinforcements.

Sasuke, for his part, could only stare into the chakra construct's eyes, horrified beyond action.

His mouth went on automatic. "What the—"

His next words were forcefully crammed back down his throat. Naruto, moving like a lightning bolt, smashed his fist straight into Sasuke's mouth.

He literally didn't see it coming.

Incisors and canines snapped free. His jaw wrenched itself aloose. He went flying bodily across open air, sailing in weightlessness before smashing into the corner of a building.

Another snapping sound, though it was painlessly familiar. The entire world spun for Sasuke, vaguely aware of his life coming to an end. His last sight being what looked like trees bursting from the ground to grab hold of Naruto.

Probably just his mind going crazy from time being broken.

* * *

Hehehehahahaha Hahahahahahaha HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA

* * *

Sasuke stared at his bedroom ceiling for a long, long time.

Note to self: never, _ever_ piss off Naruto.

He didn't understand how an idiot like Naruto could hold such staggering power. The real kicker, though, was, _he didn't even use it!_ Not until… what, now?

Had he such power, Itachi would have been killed several times over by now.

…he needed that kind of power. How could he get such power?

"Just ask for it."

Sasuke snorted. "Yeah, sure. 'Oh Naruto, how can I have…"

Sasuke blinked.

"…your…"

His face slackened.

"…power?"

The boy slowly sat up, looking around the room. He checked under his bed, in the closet, the rest of the house.

After fruitless searching, he activated his Sharingan.

And found himself staring face-to-face with a giant fox's head.

"GYAH!" Sasuke tripped over his own feet and tumbled backwards.

=CRACK=

Sasuke slumped to the floor motionless. Blood dripped from the corner of a table, which bore some of his hair and scalp.

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, God, this whole broken time loop thing is starting to drive me crazy… Giant floating fox heads staring at me…"

"Who says you're… 'crazy?'"

Sasuke yelped, rolling out of bed in a defensive crouch. "Where the hell are you?" he demanded.

The disembodied voice chuckled. "Why, you can say I'm in your head. Though I'm very much real."

Sasuke frowned. "In my head?" He smacked himself several times. "Okay, I've officially gone insane."

"Relax, Sasuke Uchiha. Activate your blood limit. You will understand just fine."

Somewhat dubiously, Sasuke did as requested, letting chakra flow into his eyes. Immediately, a giant fox head materialized before him. He jumped back, but the wall prevented him from going anywhere.

"What the? Aren't you…"

The foxhead grinned. "Yes, I'm that which you saw two deaths ago. Kyuubi, the Ninetails. The Demon Fox that terrorized your village shortly after you were born."

_TBC_

_

* * *

_

OMAKE

8:07.

Sasuke grumbled. Same broken time, same starting point. Life sucked, especially since he was denied a chance to continue it.

He went downstairs, going through his daily regimen. Preparing his breakfast, he heard the Fox speak.

"Do you ALWAYS add mushroom to your rice?"

"Yeah," Sasuke grunted, slicing up a green-capped white mushroom. "Why?"

"...nothing."

Sasuke shrugged. Whatever... Though now the Fox had mentioned it, he _was_ rather sick of eating the same thing.

Next cycle, he was going to go out for breakfast.

---

Sasuke's eyes opened to blue sky. So blue, it seemed unreal. Then he blinked.

Wasn't he supposed to be waking up in bed again?

Sasuke sat up quickly, then started to rub his eyes. He must have been dreaming or something. After all, it wasn't normal for people to be sitting on clouds in front of golden gates with angels standing by.

---

"Idiot," the Fox grumbled with arms folded, even as the death reaper dragged his sulking form into Hell.

Why, oh why did he think not telling Sasuke about the mushroom was a good idea?

(Yes, this is a Super Mario Bros. reference. Gatorade gave me the idea on TFF. Thanks.)


End file.
